The 100 Best Money Quotes of All Time

There is something about quotes that motivates me to be a better person. Especially when they are relevant to me and where I am in life. Since I blog about personal finance and it is a huge part of what I do, I decided to share my favorite money quotes.

Here is a list of the fifty-one best quotes about money that I have ever heard:

1. “Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like.” – Will Smith

2. “You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.” – Maya Angelou

3. ”Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants.” – Benjamin Franklin

4. “A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart.” – Jonathan Swift

5. “Money and women are the most sought after and the least known about of any two things we have.” – Will Rogers

13. “If a person gets his attitude toward money straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area in his life.” – Billy Graham

14. “It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor. – Seneca

15. “Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that.” – Norman Vincent Peale

16. “Not he who has much is rich, but he who gives much.” – Erich Fromm

17. “A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.” – Henry Ford

18. “If you want to know what a man is really like, take notice of how he acts when he loses money.” – Simone Weil

19. “Few men have virtue enough to withstand the highest bidder.” – George Washington

20. “Capital as such is not evil; it is its wrong use that is evil. Capital in some form or other will always be needed.” – Gandhi

21. “When it comes to money, you can’t win. If you focus on making it, you’re materialistic. If you try to but don’t make any, you’re a loser. If you make a lot and keep it, you’re a miser. If you make it and spend it, you’re a spendthrift. If you don’t care about making it, you’re unambitious. If you make a lot and still have it when you die, you’re a fool–for trying to take it with you. The only way to really win with money is to hold it loosely–and be generous with it to accomplish things of value.” – John C. Maxwell

29. “If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability.” – Henry Ford

30. “You must gain control over your money or the lack of it will forever control you.” – Dave Ramsey

31. “Money was never a big motivation for me, except as a way to keep score. The real excitement is playing the game.” – Donald Trump

32. “The trick is to stop thinking of it as ‘your’ money.” – IRS auditor

33. We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill

34. The Stock Market is designed to transfer money from the Active to the Patient.” – Warren Buffett

35. “Dogs have no money. Isn’t that amazing? They’re broke their entire lives. But they get through. You know why dogs have no money? .. No Pockets.” – Jerry Seinfeld

36. “My formula for success is rise early, work late and strike oil.” – JP Getty

37. “Money is a guarantee that we may have what we want in the future. Though we need nothing at the moment it insures the possibility of satisfying a new desire when it arises.” – Aristotle

38. “Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver.” – Ayn Rand

39. “I’d like to live as a poor man with lots of money.” – Pablo Picasso

40. “When I was young I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old I know that it is.” – Oscar Wilde

41. “If you have trouble imagining a 20% loss in the stock market, you shouldn’t be in stocks.” – John Bogle

42. “Money is multiplied in practical value depending on the number of W’s you control in your life: what you do, when you do it, where you do it, and with whom you do it.” – Tim Ferriss

43. “Many people take no care of their money till they come nearly to the end of it, and others do just the same with their time.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

44. “If you took our top fifteen decisions out, we’d have a pretty average record. It wasn’t hyperactivity, but a hell of a lot of patience. You stuck to your principles and when opportunities came along, you pounced on them with vigor.” – Charlie Munger

45. “The habit of saving is itself an education; it fosters every virtue, teaches self-denial, cultivates the sense of order, trains to forethought, and so broadens the mind.” – T.T. Munger

46. “The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it in your back pocket.” – Will Rogers

47. “It’s good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it’s good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven’t lost the things that money can’t buy.” – George Lorimer

48. “A simple fact that is hard to learn is that the time to save money is when you have some.” – Joe Moore

49. “Money can’t buy happiness, but it will certainly get you a better class of memories.” – Ronald Reagan

50. “What difference does it make how much you have? What you do not have amounts to much more.” – Seneca

51. “Many folks think they aren’t good at earning money, when what they don’t know is how to use it.” – Frank A. Clark

52. “Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” – Benjamin Franklin

53. “Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant.” –P.T. Barnum

54. “Try to save something while your salary is small; it’s impossible to save after you begin to earn more.” —Jack Benny

55. “Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.” — Henry David Thoreau

56. “The individual investor should act consistently as an investor and not as a speculator.” — Ben Graham

57. “Investing should be more like watching paint dry or watching grass grow. If you want excitement, take $800 and go to Las Vegas. — Paul Samuelson

58. “I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.” — Thomas Jefferson

59. “It’s easier to feel a little more spiritual with a couple of bucks in your pocket.”― Craig Ferguson

Author

Deacon Hayes is a financial expert, speaker, and podcaster. As a Financial Planner, he helped many high net worth individuals create a plan with their money. Ten years ago, Deacon created Well Kept Wallet to be a resource that can transform the average persons financial life.

Deacon has been featured in many news publications including Yahoo Finance, US News & World Report, Investopedia, CNN Money, and more.

He is also the author of You Can Retire Early!: Everything You Need to Achieve Financial Independence When You Want It.

9 Comments

Mo' Money Mo' Houses (@momoneymohouses)

#7 is so true!

Deacon

I know, right? It is sad but true.

Holly@ClubThrifty

I LOVE THESE!

Deacon

Thanks!

Drop that Debt

These are great quotes! Thanks!

Humberto

How about this quote? Jesus said “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”. You show me where you invest your time and money and I’ll show you where your heart is. This earth is passing away and only what is done for Christ will last!!!!

WellKeptWallet

Humberto! That is a great quote. It is so true that how one uses money says a lot about what they value.